


Unburn the Ashes, Unchain the Reactions

by TeamImprov



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016) Whump, Bleeding Out, Blood and Injury, Broken Bones, Gen, Jack Dalton (MacGyver TV 2016) Whump, Near Death Experiences, Trapped, collapsed building, riley davis whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:08:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28441410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeamImprov/pseuds/TeamImprov
Summary: Mac and Riley injured + Trapped in a collapsed building = Jack’s worst nightmare
Comments: 31
Kudos: 102





	Unburn the Ashes, Unchain the Reactions

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Train Wreck by James Arthur
> 
> ++
> 
> Based on prompt by @blas-ph-emy on Tumblr: 
> 
> Jack: I'll be there as quick as I can, so apply pressure to the wounds and try not to move around too much. 
> 
> Mac: It's okay! The weight of the rubble crushing my body is pressing down on my wounds AND preventing me from moving at all!
> 
> Jack: Mac. Buddy. We've really got to work on your concept of what's 'okay'. 
> 
> ++
> 
> How could I resist?

“You know, this mission officially sucks.” Jack complained bitterly as he pulled on the fractured framework blocking his path to Mac and Riley. He was able to loosen some of the debris, a chunk of metal and cement crashing to the ground at his feet and kicking up a slurry of dust. Jack bit back a cough, knowing how much it would suck with his broken ribs. He felt disgusting, his tac gear covered in a white and grey coating of particles from the desecrated building. He could feel the blood at his temple trickling down, tickling his chin. He swiped at it absentmindedly with the back of his hand, merely smearing it. He wiped the hand on his pants once before giving up. 

“Oh yeah?” Riley's voice echoed through his comm. Luckily, the three agents were still online. Unluckily, they were all a little worse for wear. “What gave it away? Was it the flat tire earlier or the ten story building that collapsed on us?” 

“Very funny,” Jack hummed, trying to figure out how to move cement chunks that were at least five times his own body weight. He needed to get to his kids, make sure they were still in one piece as they had claimed. Mac was awfully quiet. That was never a good sign. “Any mission where I lose sight of you two is a bad one in ol’ Jack’s book.” 

“I’ll never understand why you insist on talking about yourself in the third person.” It was Mac this time. His voice was rough, more gravelly than normal, and there was a hint of something Jack could tell he was trying to hide. Honestly, Jack was just happy to hear him at all. 

“You just haven’t learned the beauty of the third person perspective, dude.” Jack knew he had to be careful as he pushed his shoulder into the cement. He didn’t want the whole structure coming down on them. It was a miracle they were all still talking. He didn’t want to make things worse. With a solid heave, more of the wall fell away. Jack smiled, there was a hole. It was tiny, but it was there. “And it is a thing of beauty.” 

“I think you have a very different definition of ‘beauty’ than we do, Jack.” Riley said and Jack could hear Mac’s faint chuckle in response. Jack couldn’t help but smile, too. If they both still had their sense of humor then they couldn’t be too badly injured. 

“To each their own, I guess.” Jack pulled another small chunk of concrete out of the way and several more fell with it, kicking up another cloud of thick dust. “Hey, while we’re just talking anyway, wanna tell me about whatever injuries you’ve both got going on. I know neither of you wants to worry me but trust me when I say my imagination is thinking the worst.” 

“I’m really fine, Jack.” Mac tried but Jack cut him off. 

“Eh, eh, nope, not buying it.” Jack said, cutting his hand through the air. “You always say that and you never are, dude. Just be honest with me, what’s wrong?”

Riley’s voice cut in first, “think my arm’s broken.”

“See, was that so hard?” Jack directed at Mac and then to Riley, “How you doin’, hun? Can you find anything to splint it with?” 

“Yeah, I, uh, used an extra shirt I had in my bag to make a splint. My rig got crushed, though, which is going to cost a fortune to fix. And it means I can’t contact Matty.” Jack could hear the hint of hysteria bubbling just under the surface of her voice. She was trying to keep it in check but Jack knew she was freaking out. 

“Hey now, you know Bozer was keeping watch out there. You know he’s reaching out for help. They’ll get to us in no time.” Jack paused in his work, listening carefully to Riley’s shaky breaths. 

“That is if he was far enough away not to get hurt, too.” Riley sighed. Jack could hear her chipping away at her own rubble prison and got back to work on his own. Mac was suspiciously quiet again. 

“Mac?” Jack called out and swore under his breath when he was met with silence on the blond’s end. Maybe Mac’s comm went out. Or maybe he was hiding how bad off he was again. It wouldn’t be the first time. Mac had a tendency to keep that information close to his chest. Jack knew the kid didn’t want to worry him but it only made Jack worry about him more. He trusted his partner in so many ways but he didn’t always trust him when it came to the younger man’s well-being. Mac would never lie in a way that would put them in danger, but he wouldn’t certainly leave out details when it pertained to his own state. “Mac, can you hear me?” 

“Huh?” Mac sounded floaty, disconnected. Not okay, then. Of course, Jack had already suspected that but hearing it sent a wave of deep concern through his body, like adrenaline but sharper. 

“You okay? You faded out on us, there.” The hole in the debris was finally big enough that Jack could climb through it. Once he landed on the other side, he bit back a groan as the movement pulled on his aching ribs. He had to hold onto the rubble when his vision fizzled out for a second. He blinked away the fuzzy spots. Damn concussions. 

“Oh, uh, yeah.” Mac hummed, clearing his throat. “You okay, Riley.”

“Just my arm, did you not hear any of that?” Jack could hear Riley pause her work, her voice laced with worry. 

“Sorry, I was just- working on a way out.” Jack could hear the lie in the words, for their benefit maybe, but it wasn’t going to help any of them if they weren’t completely transparent with each other. 

“No, you weren’t. Did you just pass out on us?” Jack asked. He kept moving the debris, hoping he was going in the right direction. For all he knew, he could be getting farther away from the two instead of closer. He prayed he would hear them soon, not just from the comm in his ear, but in person. 

“Maybe, I don’t really know actually.” 

Jack closed his eyes. Damn it, kid, ya gotta stop doing this to me. “Did you hit your head in the blast? Is your head bleeding?” 

“Yes.” Okay, at least that was some honesty. 

“Right, can you see any other injuries? Are you bleeding anywhere else or does anything else feel weird or hurt?” Jack wanted him to say no so all they had to deal with was three concussions, a broken arm, and some broken ribs. It felt like a bad sign that Mac wasn’t up and moving like he and Riley were. 

“Can’t tell.” Mac’s sheepish voice told him after a breath of silence. Jack forced himself through another opening in the rubble. He felt like he was swimming in cement and he technically was. 

“Why not?” Jack asked, was he okay or was he in shock? 

“I’m stuck, can’t see anything.” Jack heard Mac shifting around on the other end of the comm before the kid cried out. 

“Hey, don’t move. You buried?”

“Yeah.” It came after a beat of silence again and this time Mac sounded even more wiped out than before. Whatever strength he had, he clearly just used it trying to get free. 

“Damn it, hoss.” 

“Sorry, Jack.”

“No, it’s not your fault.” Jack said in response to the weak apology. That was just like Mac, always apologizing even when it wasn't his fault. Even when he was the one injured. Granted, they were all injured this time and Mac probably felt responsible because he couldn’t stop the device from detonating on the fifth floor. Luckily, they had enough time to figure out they weren’t going to make it and were almost out of the building by the time it blew. Mac had stayed behind just a few seconds too long. Jack normally would have hauled his ass out of there but he was so focused on trying to get Riley out. It made Jack think that if anyone should apologize it should be him, but he also knew deep down that it wasn’t any of their faults. Missions went south. At least they were still alive. They just had to stay that way until help arrived. “You said you can’t see, do you mean at all?”

“No, no, I can see.” Mac explained quickly. “There’s too much stuff on top of me; I can’t see if I’m bleeding.” 

“Okay, bud. I hear you.” Jack didn’t like it one bit but at least the kid wasn’t blind. “Riley, how are you doing?” 

“Ah!” He heard her yelp from her end. There was a loud crash as something heavy fell and debris rained up from the floor. Jack held his breath as the whole building seemed to rumble with the force of it.

“What’s wrong?” He asked her quickly, praying she hadn’t hurt herself doing whatever the hell she was doing. 

“Ow,” she groaned. “Moved the wrong way. Add broken ribs to the list but at least I made a bigger hole.” 

“Okay, neither of you move.” Jack demanded of them. He wanted to wrap them both in bubble wrap. “You hear me? Let me come to you. I’m on my way. Mac, can you feel anything hurting?” 

“Yeah.” Mac’s breathing had taken on a more ragged quality since the building shifted. Little gasps of pain were sawing through his clenched teeth with every inhale. 

“Where is it?”

A soft chuckle was followed by another groan. “Everywhere.” 

Jack cursed to himself. “Can you be a little more specific?”

“Feels like an elephant is sitting on me.” Mac admitted. With how strained his voice sounded, the debris trapping him must have fallen forward to crush him more. 

“Or a ten story building.” Riley chimed in, apologetically. 

“Is it your chest?” Jack asked. The most important question was could he breathe? Was he getting crushed so much he was going to suffocate before they could even get to him? 

“No, my chest is clear. I can’t see anything lower, though.” Mac grunted, a soft whimper escaping. “Feels like something sharp is digging into my stomach.” 

“I hear you, bud.” Jack didn’t feel comforted knowing the details but at least the kid had let him in on them. “I’m on my way now.” 

“Jack, I think I can see him.” Riley immediately cut in. 

“Hun, I thought I told you to stay put?” If they kept it up they were both going to put him in an early grave. He blamed every single grey hair he had on the two agents who were more like family than anyone else had ever been. It hurt him to know that he could lose them. Hopefully, the day wouldn’t end like that and they would all go home, maybe not in one piece, but alive. “I don’t want you aggravating your arm or ribs.” 

“I know, but you are, and I’m closer to Mac than I thought.” Jack wondered how that happened since she had been in front of him and Mac had been behind. A lot can happen when a building is falling on top of you, Jack figured, who was he to question it. “I could hear him talking. Mac, can you say something else.”

“Like what?” Mac’s chuckle ended in another hoarse, painful cough. 

“There, I can hear you, Mac.” Riley exclaimed, relief flooding her shaky voice. “I think I can make it over to you.” 

“Careful.” Mac told her and Jack could imagine Riley’s eye roll at the concern. He wouldn’t be Mac if he wasn’t worrying about everyone else. 

“Always.” She said, and Jack knew that was supposed to make them feel better but it really didn’t. They were all careful, that didn’t mean they didn’t still get hurt sometimes. 

“How you doing, guys?” Jack asked, not letting up on his own slow trek through the rubble. He was happy Riley had found Mac but he wasn’t hearing either of them beyond their tinny voices in his comm. 

“I can see him.” Riley said, strained as she wiggled through a tight spot. “Almost there.” 

“Mac?” Jack asked, he hadn’t heard the younger man say anything in a while. Any length of silence was too long in Jack’s book. The last thing they wanted was for him to slip into unconsciousness, a coma, or worse. 

Mac didn’t say a word. 

There was nothing from his end. 

“Mac, you there, bud?”

“Huh,” it was groggier than before. He was fading faster than they could move the debris. One of these times he wasn’t going to wake up again. They had been in a lot of tight spots and Jack had never allowed himself to think of what life would be like if he lost the kid. He definitely wasn’t going to start now. 

“Stay still, hoss, I think you just passed out on us again.”

“Oh, sorry.”

“No need to apologize, man, just try to stay awake. Riley, how’re you doing?”

“Almost there.” She grunted painfully. Moving had to be torture on her injuries. 

“Hey, careful now.” Jack wished he was there to help her. He couldn’t stand being so far away from them when they both needed help. 

“I know, one second.” Jack listened carefully as she made her way through the opening and dropped down to the floor. “I got him!” 

“How is he?” 

“He’s out again, there’s a lot of blood on his face. I think he has a concussion.” 

“I think we all do,” Jack hummed, not liking what he was hearing at all. “What else can you see?”

“He was right. He’s pinned pretty good. I can get some of the smaller stuff off him but there are a few I’m not going to be able to move on my own.” 

“All right, don’t hurt yourself. I’m almost to you.” Jack hoped it was true. He kept digging, moving piece by piece, both his kids’ pain motivating him not to give up. 

“Mac?” Riley said comfortingly. He could hear shifting, a hitch in Mac’s breath as the blond came to again. 

“Ow,” He groaned deeply as the pain came barreling back into his awareness. Unconsciousness was the body’s best defense against pain but waking up and feeling it all come back again could be a jolting experience. 

“Jack!” Riley cried out, he heard more shuffling on their end. 

“What?” Jack froze in his tracks, afraid to move anything else before he knew if everything was alright. 

“Jack, he’s not okay! He’s bleeding, bad.” 

“Where?” Jack asked, louder than he intended, and winced as his own voice cut through his temple like a knife. 

“I got my hand in between some of the debris and I think a sharp edge is cutting into his side.” Riley told him nervously. 

“Riley, how did you get here?” Jack heard Mac ask, still not fully with the picture but clearly coming back online. 

“Slowly.” She told him. 

“You okay?” 

“Just an arm, it’ll heal.” 

“Your ribs?” 

“Sucks to breathe but I’m doing a lot better than you right now.” As he listened in on their conversation, Jack could imagine her holding up a bloody hand for Mac to see. Another chunk of concrete fell to the ground and he could move forward a little more. 

Almost there, he thought, just hang on. 

“Oh,” Mac said softly, maybe a little sheepishly. 

“Yeah, it’s not good, Mac.” Riley agreed.

“It’s fine,” Mac tried. Jack knew he would. He was always doing that. Jack knew why, Mac didn’t want to worry anybody or be a burden, when all they wanted to do is be there for him. He knew it stemmed from Mac’s childhood. Oversight might be trying but back then he was in no position to win any father of the year awards. Mac grew up quick, took care of himself, because he had to. It broke Jack’s heart that even after all these years he was still in that mindset. Old habits die hard and Jack wasn’t sure if they would ever get through to Mac about that one. 

“It’s not fine, Mac.” Riley lightly reprimanded. She wasn’t buying it, either. “Jack, we have to get him out.” 

“I’ll be there quick as I can.” Jack promised. “Riley, can you try to put pressure on the would. Mac, try not to move around too much.” 

“It’s okay.” Mac tried again, a little more lighthearted this time and Jack rolled his eyes. “The weight of the rubble crushing my body is pressing down on the wound and preventing me from moving at all so…” 

Jack stopped, glaring dead-eyed at the rubble in front of him. “Mac. Buddy. We really got to work on your concept of what’s okay.” 

“And fine.” Riley added. “You’re not allowed to use either of those words anymore.” 

“What she said,” Jack said, getting back to work. His hands were badly blistered, cracked and bleeding at the palms, but he wouldn’t stop. Not until he saw one pair of brown eyes and another pair of blue. 

“You guys are no fun.” Mac chided playfully, weakly. 

“Sorry it’s hard to find the humor in the situation when you’re trying to bleed to death on us.” Jack pointed out. 

“I’m not bleeding to death.” Mac told him earnestly. 

“Yeah, what do you call this?” Riley scolded. Jack could hear the intense worry behind the words and swallowed against his own nerves. 

“Riley, what is it?” Jack asked. 

“I can’t get the bleeding to stop, Jack.” The slight hysteria in her voice was back full force now. “I can barely get to the wound, I can’t get enough leverage with just one arm to put enough pressure on it, and he still has the cement cutting into him.” 

“Riley, Riley, listen to me.” Jack stopped again, pressing one finger to the comm in his ear. The only good thing about her tirade was Jack realized he could hear them now. He was close, they just needed to hold on a little longer. “You have to calm down, please. I’m almost there. I can hear you now. But you have to stay calm, for Mac.”

“I know, I’m sorry. I just hate feeling helpless.” She sounded close to tears and Jack knew the feeling. 

“Mac, you still with us?” Jack turned his attention back to the main cause of their heightened concern. 

“I’m still here.” He bit out. 

“Could you tell Riley she’s not helpless for me, real quick. I’m sure it would make her feel better if it came from you.” Really he just wanted to keep Mac talking. 

“You’re helping, Riles. Trust me.” Mac’s sincere voice cut through some of the tension and he could hear Riley’s breathing pattern calming. 

“See, no need to worry. It’s going to be fine.” Jack told her. He needed her to believe it, even if he had no way of knowing for sure if the sentiment was true. 

“Jack, you’re not seeing how much blood there is.” She whispered. 

“Then the best thing you can do right now is keep him awake, talking.” 

“Right,” Riley said to herself more than to him, “Um, okay. Mac, I’ve been having a problem with my freezer. The inside is cold but the outside keeps getting really hot.” 

“Um, could be the condenser coils.” There was slight slur to Mac’s speech that was putting a little extra hussle in Jack’s progress. “Or maybe the condenser fan. Do you ever clean it out?” 

“The freezer, yeah all the time.” Riley told him. 

“No, the condenser coils.” Mac specified. 

“Mac, I’ve never even heard of condenser coils until now, so definitely not.” Riley said and Jack was with her on that one. Was that something people were supposed to do? 

“Oh, um, all you have to do is unplug everything and, uh…” Mac’s voice faded. 

“No, hey, what do I do next? This could save me from having to get a new fridge.”

Jack worked faster.

“Um, right, condenser coils in the back. You just have to move it away from the wall and…”

“And what?” Good job, Riley. Jack thought, keep him talking until I get there. 

“Move the base grille at the bottom and clean...it out with vacuum or soft brush. If it doesn’t work, there might be a problem with the seal of the freezer.”

“When we get out of here do you think you can take a look at it?” She asked. 

“Sure, as soon as I can.” Mac promised lightly. He would help her with just about anything she asked. 

“You busy now?” She joked sadly. 

“A little.” Mac said and Jack could hear the smile in his voice. 

“Well, I’m sure it will be fine for a few days.” 

“Yeah,” Mac hummed, voice thin and airy. 

“Jack?” Riley called out. Jack could hear it clear as day right behind the last bit of debris. He was so close now. He could literally reach out and touch them. 

“What is it, honey?” He asked softly. 

“Are you almost here?” The fear in her voice broke Jack’s heart and he blinked back the pinch of tears that prickled in the corners of his eyes. 

“Almost.” He promised. “How’re you both doing?” 

“I don’t know how much longer he has, Jack.” It was honest and it was terrifying. Jack pressed his head against the last of the rubble. So close, he was so close. 

“He has as long as it takes for me to get us out of here.” Jack grit out, unwilling to accept anything else. 

“I can’t keep him awake.” Jack could hear tears in Riley’s voice, too. 

“Keep trying, ask him about something else. As long as he’s Macsplaining he ain’t dying.”

“Mac, I have another problem.” She said, redirecting her attention back to the blond. 

“What is it?” He asked, voice scraping against sandpaper in his throat. 

“My car makes a weird gurgling noise every time I step on the brakes. I can’t figure out where it’s coming from.” 

“Needs more...coolant, I think.” He whispered. 

“You think?” Riley asked. Mac was usually so sure of himself. 

“Um, yeah, the air in the cooling system is rushing to the heater core.” He was trailing off, clearly fighting against the fatigue rattling through his injured body, pushing him deeper toward nothingness. 

“That doesn’t sound good. Mac?” 

“What?” Mac groaned, clearly losing the fight. 

“How do I fix it?” 

“Add, um…” He trailed off again but this time he didn’t pick it back up. 

“Jack!” Riley shouted desperately. Jack gripped the edge of the final bit of concrete and pulled, praying again that he wouldn’t send the whole building down on them even more than it already was. There were a lot of air pockets from the first collapse. A second collapse would be fatal for all of them. 

The building didn’t collapse more but the large chunk of cement did. When the dust settled, he could see them. Riley’s body was hunched over from her own pain. She sat next to Mac’s upper torso, the only part of the kid’s body Jack could see. He kneeled down next to them and pressed his hand to the side of Mac’s bloody head. Mac’s eyes fluttered open, his face was dangerously pale under all the grime. 

“I’m here.” Jack told them. “Mac, you staying with us.” 

“Jack?” Mac frowned up at the older man as if not believing that he was really there. He brushed the hair off Mac’s forehead and gripped his shoulder tight to ground the kid. 

“How you doing there, hoss?” Jack let his eyes roam over the debris covering his best friend. There was a chunk of cement pressing into his abdomen, blood welling around the area. His shirt was soaked with the stuff. Luckily, there was a beam keeping the majority of the weight off Mac’s thin body. If the full weight had been on him he would have been dead already. “You look well and truly stuck.” 

“Yeah, wanna get out.” Mac haphazardly pushed against the debris crushing him, grimacing painfully. Jack could see the thinly veiled panic in the kid’s eyes. He was doing his best to keep calm but there was only so much a person could take. 

“Me too, bud. We gotta figure out how to do that. Help us figure out how to get this concrete off ya and we’ll be out of here in no time.”

“We need leverage.” Mac explained. “Find something long and strong, something metal.” 

“Okay, okay, metal.” Jack rose to a half crouch and wandered around the air pocket they were trapped in. He found a sturdy piece of metal and brought it back over to the pair. “Will this work?” 

“Yes, get it under the edge of the concrete, push down, but be careful of your ribs.” 

Jack huffed out an incredulous chuckle. Mac was always concerned about others, even when he was getting cut in half by a whole building. “We will, but we’re a little more concerned with getting you out from under there.” 

“I know, but I can’t get you both out if you puncture your lungs.” He had a point. 

“We hear you, Mac. We’ll be careful.” Jack promised and Riley helped him maneuver the pipe into position. “You ready, this is probably gonna suck.” 

“Already sucks.” Mac grunted and Jack grimaced for him. 

“Yeah, well, it’s probably gonna suck even more.” 

“Do it.”

“Okay, Riley, you ready?” He didn’t want to draw it out for them any more than he had to.

“Ready.” She gripped part of the pipe with their good arm and gave Jack a nod. 

“Tell me if you need to stop.” He made her promise. 

“You, too.” She shot back. 

“Fair enough, on three. One.”

“Two.” Mac added from his place on the ground. 

“Three.” Riley yelled and they both pressed down as hard as they could on the pipe. The concrete moved, just a little, just enough to force a hoarse scream from Mac’s throat. They didn’t stop, only put more pressure on the pipe and willed it not to snap. 

Mac screamed again as the weight was thoroughly lifted off his body. Jack strained against the weight, his ribs protesting painfully, as Mac tried to wiggle out. His feet scrambled against the floor but he couldn’t move very far. He was struggling, doing his best to help them, but he wasn’t going to make it. 

“Riley, help him. I got this.” Jack yelled. Riley glanced at him quickly, unsure, but then lunged forward. 

“Mac, grab my hand.” She leaned down and reached out with her good arm. Mac’s eyes were squeezed tightly shut but he reached for her and grabbed on. She pulled, his body heavier than hers. She could feel her ribs grating together in her chest and couldn’t imagine what Mac was feeling, or Jack. 

“Hurry, Riley!” Jack cried out, losing some of his purchase on the metal. 

“Got him!” She yelled as the tension on his body gave and he slid out from under the rubble. 

As soon as Mac was free, the rubble crashed back to the ground. If Mac had still been there, he would have been completely crushed. 

“You with me, hoss?” Jack’s breathing was coming in staggered and painful but he couldn’t get Mac’s screams out of his head. He glanced at Riley to find her eyes closed, arm pulled close to her body. That sucked, big time, but at least Mac was free. 

“Argh,” Mac coughed, hands pressed to the bleeding wound in his abdomen. Jack reached forward and tugged the ripped shirt out of the way. He pressed his hands around the wound to feel for any internal bleeding. He couldn’t tell if there was any but Mac cried out again at the pressure. Blood bubbled from the wound. It was more of a deep slice horizontally across his upper abdomen than a puncture, which was only sort of better. Either way, it looked bad. 

“That really got you good, homie.” Pulling off his overshirt so he was just in a t-shirt. He pressed it firmly against the gash. 

“Hnnn..” Was all Mac could say, not quite recovered from the trauma of the last couple of minutes. 

“Riley, get his belt off.” She nodded, looking a little more together, and unbuckled Mac’s belt. When she git it out of the belt loops, they worked together to slide it under Mac’s back and tighten it over the shirt, keeping the pressure in place. 

“How are we getting out of here?” Riley asked, her face lined with pain, too pale for Jack’s liking. None of them were doing good. 

“Slowly, carefully.” Was his only answer for her. “Mac, can you move?”

“Yeah,” he was shivering hard, his eyes dull against the pain. Despite everything, though, he rolled over and made his way to his knees. The shirt stayed in place but he had to stop when the world spun out around him. When he stood straighter, Riley grabbed one of his arms and wrapped it around her shoulder. His other hand pressed against the shirt and belt holding him together. It was as good as they were going to get. 

“Good, stay with Riley. I’ll move the debris out of the way. Keep pressure on the wound and tell us if you’re feeling worse. That goes for you, too, RIley.”

“And you, Jack.” Riley made him promise again, and he did with a quick nod. 

“Okay, we all have a deal?” The two younger agents nodded. “Good, now let’s get the hell out of here. Luckily, we were pretty close to the door when the building blew. It shouldn’t be too long.” 

It was slow going as they made their way through the rubble. Despite their injuries, Mac and Riley never complained and Jack couldn’t have been more proud of them. 

“How we doing back there?” He asked after a couple minutes of silence. The path had been pretty easy to clear up until then but the chunks of cement had gotten bigger and bigger as they made their way to freedom. 

“Peachy.” Riley answered for both of them.

Jack swore and slapped his hand against the wall of debris when he realized there was no way in hell they were moving it. 

“What?” Riley asked, staggering under the weight of Mac’s lanky frame. Mac’s head fell to his chest, knees buckling, and Riley struggled to keep him upright. 

“I can’t get this out of the way. Damn it!” He punched the wall again, his knuckles splitting with the force of it. He ignored it, pulling at the rubble despite the impossible nature of the task. 

“Jack, stop, you’re just going to hurt yourself.” 

“I can’t stop, we have to get out of here.” 

“I know but it’s like Mac said, we need you in one piece if any of us are going to make it out of this.” She was right, of course. But it didn’t sting any less to accept defeat. It killed him that he couldn’t do more for his kids. He never had biological ones of his own and at that point in his life we probably never would. Mac and Riley had filled that role, and likewise, he had filled the role of father figure for them. Neither of them had a dad worth their salt and Jack did everything he could to make up for it. 

“We’re stuck, I can’t get us out.” 

“Then we just have to hope that Matty sent an extraction crew to get us out. Bozer was out there; he’s not going to leave us under here.” Riley said. She was right, there was nothing they could do except wait. Jack sighed, giving in to their situation, and moved forward to help Riley maneuver Mac to lean against the wall. She took Mac’s right side and wrapped her arm around his shoulders. Mac’s head fell back against the rough wall of their prison. Jack kneeled in front of them, watching their every painful breath and movement to make sure they were okay. 

“How you doing, hoss?” Jack asked gently. Mac’s eyes were half-mast, dull. 

“I’m okay.” His voice was barely above a whisper, faint and weak like the pulse Jack was feeling in his wrist. 

“You look like crap.” He tried for lightheartedness, it fell a little flat. 

“Thanks.” Mac’s lips quirked into a half-smile but he fell silent again, closing his eyes against the onslaught of pain ravaging his body. 

“How’s the bleeding?” Jack leaned forward and lifted the shirt away from the wound. He didn’t want to touch it but he needed to know if Mac was still in danger of bleeding out. 

“I think it slowed.” Mac told him, shifting slightly before wincing again. 

“You’re right but you lost a lot. Don’t move, alright?” 

Mac nodded. “Not going anywhere.” 

“Riley, how about you?” 

“Arm hurts, not a big fan of breathing either.” She looked a little better now that they had stopped moving but it was clear she needed medical attention almost as much as Mac. So did Jack, if he was being honest. 

“Okay, I need you to stay as still as possible, too.” 

Riley simply pulled Mac closer to her and Jack knew there was no way in hell either of them would even be able to move until help arrived. He had no clue how any of them were still going. 

“How are you?” Riley asked, and Jack has to shake his head to get rid of the fog trying to overcome him. 

“Can’t shake this damn headache and my ribs don’t feel too good, either.” If they were being honest with him the least he could do was be honest with them. 

“Then take your own advice, sit down, and try not to keel over on us.” Riley softened the words with a sad smile but he could see that she was just as worried about him as Jack was of them. 

Jack couldn’t disagree with her, either, and sat on the other side of Mac. Mac’s head fell on Riley’s shoulder as he took slow, deliberate breaths. The kid reached out with cold, clammy fingers and took Jack’s hand. Jack puts his arm around him and squeezes Riley’s shoulder comfortingly. It was all they could do now that their strength had failed them. 

“Don’t think there’s enough air in here.” Riley said after a while. They were all fading. Faster and faster with each second that ticks by without a sign of rescue. 

“I’m sorry I couldn’t get us out.” Jack fought to keep his eyes open, to stay alert, but it was no use. Either their lungs were too damaged to breathe or they really were running out of air in the tight confines they were trapped in. 

“It’s okay.” Riley said, obviously trying to make him feel better, but it didn’t help. It wasn’t okay. 

“It’s not. I failed you both. I was supposed to protect you two.” 

“Didn’t fail.” Riley insisted. But he did, couldn’t she see that? 

“I don't’ think we’re getting out of this one.” He said and pulled his kids closer to him. At least if they were going out they were going out together. It wasn’t so bad, like falling asleep. 

“At least none of us is alone.” Jack felt a tear slip down his cheek when Riley said what he had been thinking all along. That’s why he fought so hard to get to them, even if they never got out, at least they weren’t alone. At least Mac wasn’t trapped under concrete, scared, as he took his last breaths. 

“Mac? You trying to skip out on the goodbyes.” 

He was met with a soft grunt, a sharp exhale. It was more than Jack thought he would get. They were all still there, for the time being. 

It didn’t take long before Mac and Riley lost consciousness. Jack felt himself fading out, willing his kids not to leave without him, when he heard the sounds of construction, yelling, and then there was sunshine and faces peering down at them. 

“Help,” he whispered, hoping it wasn’t a mirage. Hoping even more that if it were real Mac and Riley were still able to be saved. 

“We’re coming to you. Just hang tight.” A voice called down and the sounds of construction got even louder. 

“Hurry.”

“Stay with us, man.” 

“Help them.” Jack pleaded as hands pulled him away from the two most important people in the world to him. He wanted to fight against the hands, not wanting to leave Mac and Riley alone, but he was too tired. 

“We are. They’re alive. We’re getting you all out.” 

The wave of relief that washed over Jack at the words was immediately followed by a wave of descending darkness. 

Another mission gone wrong, another close call, but none of that mattered now that they were all going to be okay. 

It was only because they were safe did he finally let himself rest. 

The End.


End file.
